He selected two assistants, along with Patrick Lodewijks, the former goalie and current keepers trainer he met at Feyenoord and took along to England.

Kees van Wonderen was part of Bert van Marwijk’s EUFA Cup winning side in 2002. An elegant, football playing centre back (originally a midfielder) developed according to the philosophy of Wiel Coerver.

Dwight Lodeweges, most recently assistant to John van ‘t Schip at the surprise of the Eredivisie season PEC Zwolle, is maybe not so well known.

PEC Zwolle assistant Dwight Lodeweges with Van ‘t Schip

Lodeweges was the former head coach at NEC, Heerenveen and SC Cambuur. His current management really endorse this big step up for the assistant, but also emphasise he is key in Zwolle’s current success. He’s not just an assistant. He started as high performance coach at Zwolle in 2015. The Canadian born was also responsible for the development of the Zwolle talents. When Ron Jans decided to move on from PEC Zwolle last year, the Zwolle board immediately asked Dwight to step up as head coach, but the 61 year old declined. He didn’t feel like a role as the figure head and scape goat. So Zwolle went on to look for the new coach, with Dwight Lodeweges as a committee member. He was in the interview with John van ‘t Schip and every candidate coach was told: you will have Dwight as your right hand man. Van ‘t Schip as the manager, Dwight as the field coach, like they do it in England.

Dwight on the right, playing in the US (or is it Canada?)

Lodeweges loves working in the shade, in the background. Working with talents, moulding new systems and game plans. The kudos for PEC all go to Schippie, and Dwight is totally ok with that.

In 2016, Lodeweges took a second job, as the Under20 coach of Oranje, at the KNVB. He worked actually, with young talents like Van de Beek, Guus Til (AZ) and Fosu-Mensah (Man United), which is more than Koeman can say. At the KNVB, they were impressed with his skills and know-how and were disappointed when he decided to leave after one year. He couldn’t combine the role he had with the KNVB with the job assisting Van ‘t Schip. The former Go Ahead player is known to be a workaholic, working 70 hours a week easily and his big ambition was always to work with the top team of the Netherlands: Oranje. With PEC Zwolle on course to play the play-offs in the Eredivisie, it is fair to expect him to perform the two jobs simultaneously until the end of the season.

For the job of Director Top Sports (Technical Director), the KNVB originally wanted Louis van Gaal, but he declined. Fred Rutten was the next on the list. In every way, Rutten was the ideal guy. In terms of age, experience (as a player and top coach) and with a background in football development. Rutten is known to be a walking encyclopedia on football and a work-aholic. But he demanded a coaching role with a rep team, as Rutten is keen to remain in touch with grass. The KNVB didn’t see this, so Rutten declined and accepted a good paying job with Maccabi Haifa, as head coach. So Nico-Jan Hoogma was next up in line.

Koeman and Hoogma some years back

Adding Nico-Jan Hoogma to the list of new faces and it is clear we will have a no-nonsense management team in Zeist (with Koeman the master pragmatist). So, what does it say when Justin Hoogma, a talent at Heracles Almelo, gets an offer for 4 years from Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, and dad Hoogma tells his son to take the offer. “You’ll learn more in Germany than you will here”, were his words. And Hoogma knows. He was there, playing for HSV Hamburg and exactly in the period when the German federation decided to overturn the whole German youth development system. Hoogma will take the Dutch development and training books and re-write them. As Wijnaldum and Hateboer recently explained, players from the Netherlands starting abroad are all confronted with much tougher training-regimes. Hoogma can confirm. When he left Holland for Germany, he experienced the exact same.

Famously, Hoogma already introduced longer days and more training intensity when still at Heracles some years back. The defensive rock also found that heading a ball was not a normal skill anymore, so he organised the so-called heading gallows (used in the 1960s for heading training) to the club. Hoogma also widened the field of interest for the players, by keeping them longer at the club and work on their nutrition, video analysis, mental coaching and individual training. It’s no wonder that Heracles selected coaches like Verbeek, Peter Bosz and John Stegeman, people who are highly interested in the “total human being”, as Van Gaal calls it.

More relevant aspects: Hoogma and current KNVB chairman Jan Smit were responsible for the promotion of Heracles to the Eredivisie and the fact that the club is one of the most healthy, financially. Every week, 11,000 fans in the new stadium… the only negative is that Heracles, under Smit and Hoogma opted to go for an artificial turf. Interesting aspect: PEC Zwolle recently announced they will stop playing on artificial and will move back to playing on grass (albeit hybrid) within a couple of years.

Nico-Jan Hoogma at HSV

Hoogma is also an outspoken opponent of the current KNVB football pyramid as they call it, the overall competition, from amateurs to semi pros all the way to the Eredivisie. The licensing model, in other words. Hoogma wants to make the Eredivisie and the Jupiler league smaller, less clubs, and wants to introduce a specific competition for the youth teams of the Eredivisie clubs.

Hoogma will also appoint the new Football Development manager, someone Hoogma will work closely together with, to further innovate the coaching training. Hoogma, born in Friesland, is known to be a hard worker, a pragmatist, someone happy with a role in the background, but also known to call a spade a spade…

Ronald Koeman, another pragmatist, is known to dabble with different systems. At Ajax, where 4-3-3 is sacred, he butted heads with the 5th column about this and at Feyenoord the winning streak started with a 5-3-2 away against PSV Eindhoven (and winning).

Koeman is happy to let go of sacred cows as long as it brings results. King Karim El Ahmadi remembers it well. The first Ajax-Feyenoord under Ronald Koeman. The Feyenoord players didn’t like going away to Ajax. Only months before they conceded 10 goals against PSV, a huge humiliation. When the Johan Cruyff Arena came into view, the Feyenoord players got more silent. The bus stopped on the big parking deck with camera teams and reporters ready to cover the arrival of the Rotterdam team. The players looked at one another: who will go first? Ronald Koeman got up, flung his jacked over his shoulder, puts his chest out and with a confident smile stepped out of the bus. El Ahmadi: “We saw him do it, and it took the fear away. We got confidence from that. We ended up playing 1-1 while we were the better team. That sums up Koeman.”

With Koeman, the KNVB has the perfect ambassador. He’s been around, winning trophies in Spain, at Wembley, in Germany with Oranje and of course in Holland. A cosmopolitan, a man who opens doors and has the respect from the players. At Feyenoord, Graziano Pelle and John Guidetti were club cult heroes, but they only had one question after their games – despite the number of goals they scored: “What did Koeman say?”. Guidetti: “He’s a tough task master, he only needed a couple of words to get you sharp… My first four goals were all penalties. I was proud of my stats. But he said: how’ bout you score a field goal or two as well at some stage? That sort of stimuli, you know?”

El Ahmadi: “I think there is a pre and post Koeman era at Feyenoord. Winning the title started with Koeman. The vibe just changed when he came in. Under Mario Been, the vibe was loose. Mario was happy for us to call him Mario. When Koeman came he was quite adamant: you call me coach. We all looked up to him. He said: my door is always open. If you don’t like something or wanna talk about things, come on in. Well, I don’t think anyone ever went in to do that… He taught us to win.”

A week before his exit at Everton, he was already pondering how he would go about things with Oranje. “I hear people talking about things we lack. The Robben factor. Sneijder’s class. Etc… but hey… look at what we do have. We have amazing attacking full backs, we have good central defenders, and I did see Promes score a couple of goals in the Champions League, right? And Depay is above average and when you have players like Wijnaldum and Daley Blind at top clubs in England, you can’t complain. And then we see those young talents coming through at Ajax and AZ? There is more than enough to hold on to.”

De Roon and Hateboer

Everton played Atalanta Bergamo for the EL and Koeman witnessed how Dutchies De Roon and Hateboer were excellent. Koeman: “If you can hold your own in the Serie A, you can hold your own in Oranje.” Hateboer and Koeman even chatted before the EL match. Hateboer: “Well, we’re both from Groningen, so yeah… My friends and family are most occupied with the Oranje topic than me. I mean, there’ a couple of others who are not too bad right? Tete, Karsdorp, Janmaat, Fosu-Mensah, Veltman. That’s five players, so I guess I might be a candidate when Koeman wants to play five at the back? We’ll see.”

Koeman changed the system at Feyenoord in his last season and managed to secure the 2nd spot behind champions Ajax, with only a 4 point gap. The PSV away game was the game that got Van Gaal intrigued. The then NT manager was in the Eindhoven stadium with skipper Robin van Persie. And seeing Feyenoord in the 5-3-2 got Van Gaal to implement that system for the WC2014. Basically, Koeman was co-responsible for the success of Oranje in Brazil. Not that Van Gaal would give Ronald that credit of course…

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/oranjes-new-direction/feed/14Oranje under new managementhttp://dutchsoccersite.org/oranje-under-new-management/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/oranje-under-new-management/#commentsWed, 07 Feb 2018 03:04:03 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5482Finally, the post we’ve been waiting for… The KNVB has made their choices and Ronald Koeman (Team Manager) and Nico-Jan Hoogma (Director Top Sports) were introduced yesterday to the media and the public.

The announcement of Koeman was no surprise. He was named as ideal years ago already. KNVB failure general manager Bert van Oostveen once bypassed Koeman (and picked Hiddink) and it was quite certain the former Oranje captain one day would get the job. With Van Oostveen out of the way, Oranje in deep dire straits and Dutch football in the slumps, Koeman now is the guiding light we all put our faith in. Will the former Everton/Southampton/Feyenoord/AZ/Benfica/PSV/Ajax/Valencia/Vitesse coach be the right man for the job? Who knows… I can see why he would be, and I can see why he wouldn’t be. Time will tell.

General Manager Erik Gudde and Ronald Koeman

Nico-Jan Hoogma will be a surprise appointment. He does not have a big name in Holland, let alone abroad. He is no Oranje legend and I don’t think he ever won a trophy in football (I will need to check…). Oops! He did. He played Champions League football with HSV Hamburg. Won the German cup with HSV and won the title in the Jupiler League twice, once with Cambuur, once with Heracles Almelo. His son Justin Hoogma is a player of Hoffenheim, in the Bundesliga.

He’s not the big name appointment some would have wanted (Van Gaal, Adriaanse, Martin van Geel) but he’s probably a very good choice.

What you need to know, is that the new Chairman of the KNVB is a man called Jan Smit. Doesn’t get more Dutch. A highly respected club chairman (Heracles Almelo as well), who is revered for his wisdom, astute management and experience. Under his management, Heracles became one of the best managed and most healthy clubs in The Netherlands. And he worked with Nico Jan for 11 years and will know exactly what Hoogma can and can not do.

Hoogma was general manager at Heracles for 11 years and was one of the key men to keep that club stable and solid. He’s been a trooper on the pitch for FC Twente, Heracles and HSV Hamburg (ex captain) and was present in the Bundesliga when the Germans in 2000 got a shock with their slump and used the Dutch football know-how to pull themselves out of the rut.

Gudde and Director Top Sports Nico-Jan Hoogma

His role will be specifically aimed at the football development (trainer and coaching training/development in particular) and the liaison role towards the clubs, in order to get them all to toe the new line.

Apart from him, a more football development manager will be appointed as well, to work with the youth rep teams and implement the new development strategy.

At his press conference, Koeman said he will appoint two new assistants and a physiology coach and a keepers coach. The name of Kees van Wonderen (former Feyenoord captain and FC Twente youth coach) is going around. Ruud Gullit will not be considered by Koeman. Brother Erwin Koeman will also not be part of the new team. He is keen to get a head coach job soon after having assisted his bro for 5 seasons.

Nico Jan Hoogma in his HSV days…

Ronald also announced he will make a drastic change. But he didn’t say what. It’s quite obvious that he refers to abandoning the 4-3-3 sacred system…

So, what should be done…

Use your strengths and let the Team support the Key players

So, imagine the team has one world class player and imagine this player is a dribble king. Now imagine Oranje plays a key match against a big opponent, with the chance to qualify for the big tournament after a good result. And that player has not been able to have one single successful dribble during the full match. Weird eh? This is what happened in the away game vs France, under Advocaat. Oranje lost 4-0 and Robben did not have a single offensive action. Instead, he played right back most of the time. When Oranje did have the ball, he was played in when he had two markers on him and was with his back to their goal, as a result of Oranje’s poor pace and poor positioning play. If you use your key player like this, you’re in trouble. It’s not calculus to determine that you need to adapt your tactics in such a way that you use the strengths of your best players. It has nothing to do with systems. Louis van Gaal used this approach to coach Oranje to the semi finals in 2014’s World Cup, allowing Robben to shine. Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich was the reason why Robben was able to be the most dominant player in that era, with their ultra dominating football. This current Oranje doesn’t have a star player. Oranje is therefore forced to make the team the star. With key players like Daley Blind, Strootman, Wijnaldum, Promes and Depay finding ways to play to their best, and lifting the team as a whole into a unit. The Oranje team will have to work to allow the new star to emerge… Whether it’s Frenkie de Jong, Justin Kluivert or maybe still Memphis…

On the left: Robben played in at Oranje, back to goal. On the right: Robben played in at Bayern.

Stop man marking, you can’t win matches with 11 asses

When Oranje plays it’s last match under Dick Advocaat, it’s exactly 25 years since Ernst Happel passed over and is coaching the likes of Garrincha, Cruyff, George Best and Nico Rijnders up in heaven. In the 1960 the Austrian legend brought his innovation to Holland, introducing the 4-3-3 system. He also detested man marking. “When you tell your players to man mark, you’re sending 11 asses into the game and you will never win.” It’s good thing he died and didn’t have to see how Hiddink, Blind and then Advocaat struggled with the new developments in the game. When Belarus left back scored against Oranje, some people blamed Arjen Robben for not tracking back. Now there is an old fashioned concept. The paradox of man marking is, that one can always blame one individual for a conceded goal. Whereas in modern football, the team is the individual. The one team unit philosophy. It’s the collective. We live in a time where nations with less individual qualities than Holland are going from strength to strength (Iceland, Wales, Sweden, Poland, Japan, Peru) using zonal marking. It’s simple. When possession is lost, you create 2 banks of 4 players, with two quicker forwards in front of the block. Compact. Hard to break down. And relatively easy to break when the ball is turned around. Koeman’s first priority should be the defensive organisation. Not conceding is key. And to work on creative, dominant play is not something a team manager has the time for. They simply don’t work enough together and get enough time together. So the priority must be the defensive organisation, which is easier to drill in. And scoring wasn’t out biggest issue anyway. Holland scored more in the qualifications than France! But conceding silly goals was. The good thing is, it was certainly not due to bad defenders, but mostly due to bad collective and organisational defending. Surely, Holland has better defenders (Van Dijk, De Ligt, De Vrij, Van Beek, Blind, Hoedt, Ake, Fosu-Mensah, Bruma, Rekik) than Iceland, Sweden, Poland etc etc but we simply had a dreadful organisation…

Our new defensive organisation!

Control midfield!

What makes most people crazy and does not help Oranje winning games, is the hopeless and ongoing square passing and back passing. In nine out of ten qualification games, it was the defenders who had most of the touches. Koeman will have to put an end to this. This is the symptom of a team unable to dominate the midfield. If a team hasn’t got the individual class to dominate the midfield, it will have to do so with a better organisation and positioning. This was a trademark for Holland for decades. But today, we hardly see the dropping-back forwards (Van Persie, Bergkamp, Ronald de Boer, Cruyff) or the forward moving defenders (Krol, De Boer, Rijkaard, Blind, Koeman). Our midfield is constantly drowned out by numbers. No wonder Wijnaldum and Strootman are hailed at their clubs but constantly fail in Oranje. In most modern successful teams, the flanks are covered by one athletic runner. Whether at Man City, Bayern, Chelsea, Real, Ajax… the double cover on the wings, with two players on each side stuck to the line is outdated. Our opponents think it’s fine that we play like that. What danger can you present from there? Fabian Delph at Man City plays like a midfielder when City is in possession. Same as Kimmel at Bayern. Why can’t Daley Blind do this? Currently, we don’t have a world class striker. So what? Use that to your advantage. Barca doesn’t play with an out and out striker. Use the space for a player to drift into. Promes from the right, or Van de Beek from midfield. Use the 3-4-1-2 system for a change, allowing more dominance of midfield. We have the runners (Janmaat, Karsdorp, Willems, Tete, Van Aanholt) and we have three good central defenders with build up capabilities (De Vrij, Van Dijk, Blind). Watford used this system to beat Champions Chelsea (admitting Chelsea played with 10 most of the game) but still…

Dick Advocaat did make a step forward by placing Daley Blind as central midfielder, against Romania and Sweden. Daley has been developed as a midfielder and can play excellent in this role, provided the team around him can cover for his weakness (speed). Spain uses two playmakers (Isco and Silva) who both start on the flank and drift inside. Steven Berghuis and Quincy Promes or Memphis Depay can play in these roles…

Movement, it’s all movement…

Forget systems, but focus on principles. In modern football, space is limited and time is limited. In today’s football it’s the turnaround that allows for space. It’s all about variance and movement. This is how you can break down an opponent which doesn’t allow for much space. Structured running line and fixed systems are obsolete. Flexible guidelines is what is needed, no more straightjackets. How can we use the ingredients of the Dutch school and adapt these into playing principles of the modern times. Which formation we start with is totally irrelevant. Does Man City play 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1? It’s not relevant.

Standard situations

Holland only scored one goal from a corner in the recent qualification games. A Sneijder corner, headed away and volleyed into the goal by Promes, with a lot of luck and through a lot of legs. Working on dead ball situations can and should add 4 to 5 goals in a qualification process. It could well be the difference between qualifying and not qualifying. Long throws, free kicks and corner kicks. The Scandinavians have had mediocre forwards, but they turned throw ins, free kicks and corners into an artform and scored key goals from them. Jetro Willems is one of the few players we have that can throw the ball into the box. If we can’t dominate and obliterate opponents with dazzling pass and move play, why not be happy with a 1-0 win from a corner or well worked free kick?

Thanks to VI Pro.

Next up: Who the F is Nico Jan Hoogma?

Ronald Koeman explaining his concepts for Oranje, sadly in Dutch…

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/oranje-under-new-management/feed/31Jetro Willems: I promise I’ll improve…http://dutchsoccersite.org/jetro-willems-i-promise-ill-improve/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/jetro-willems-i-promise-ill-improve/#commentsSun, 28 Jan 2018 05:00:57 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=2175With the KNVB team almost up to speed (surely Koeman will be the man) it’s interesting to focus on the top quality players we thought we had… Jetro Willems came like a comet and disappeared into mediocrity last season. He’s picking up the pieces in the Bundesliga now.

“What is good arrives quick” is a typical Dutch saying. We saw it with JC, with Seedorf, Van Basten, Messi, Rooney… Age is not a concern, it’s all about quality. Giggs could play well into his 30s, so what? Jetro Willems appeared to be another top player who presented himself at top level in Holland at 17 years. And through a stroke of luck, ended up in the – disappointing – Oranje eleven for the EC2012.

Developed at Sparta Rotterdam, he made name real quick. Fast, strong, great technique and a wonderful left foot. PSV didn’t wait for the other clubs to wake up and immediately snatched him up. When Oranje and PSV left back Erik Pieters got seriously injured, Willems took his spot in Eindhoven, and not much later, the youngster was selected by Bert van Marwijk for the Euros2012. In his first 5 minutes in the match vs Denmark, he almost became a legend by hitting the ball like a rocket on goal, only for it to splash onto the bar. In that highly disappointing campaign, Willems was one of the high lights.

His coach Advocaat at PSV called him complacent. His Young Oranje coach Cor Pot called him naive. Willems always listened to the criticism and with his involved parents as advisers, he would improve himself.

After making a name as the youngest player at a Euros tournament ever, he also saw the other side of being a pro. Willems was a little bit too soft on himself. And in the year after the Euros, he even lost his spot in Young Oranje.

He also had to cope with a series of injuries at PSV Eindhoven but the season before last, he shone again. With the highest number of assists, he won the title with PSV, helping Luuk de Jong score and riding the wave with other marquee players like Memphis and Wijnaldum. And while Depay left for Man U and Wijnaldum went to Newcastle United, Willems decided to stay at PSV.

The season following was a dreadful one for the youngster. Hardly any assists, Luuk de Jong forgot how to score, more injuries and as a result, ridicule from the tv pundits for his weight problem. It was time for Willems to move on. But the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich weren’t interested…

The 23 year old was still keen to reach the European top, but he has to make a detour. AS Roma and AS Monaco were in the running for his signature, but Willems decided on the Bundesliga. Eintracht Frankfurt. An unlikely decision.

Willems: “And credit to my dad. Because of him, I’m here. Really, I was happy to go with the other clubs, and I never thought about the Bundesliga. I mean, the Bundesliga…that is a lot of running and working, right? I am not a great runner, I’m good on the ball. But my dad convinced me and I think him for it. Frankfurt came late in the game, we basically had decided for another club, we had negotiated the deal etc. It was almost done. But dad started to google Eintracht. Their games, their practices, he investigated the coach and he said to me: “I think Eintracht is ideal for you.”. I didn’t get it… He never ever pushed me to do anything, so when he said this… I took it seriously. And I thought. Ok. Bundesliga it is.”

Willems would discuss this with his dad later on. And his dad was quite harsh. “He never told me off he was always positive. But now, he basically said: let’s face it. You’re good on the ball, you’re a good passer, but in the turn-around you’re hopeless. You let your man go, you jog back, you’re too easy on your self! Now, look at the big full backs in Europe. Alaba. Marcelo. Alvez. They run their guts out. They work like crazy. Yes, all good players, but all hard workers. You won’t make it to the top if you don’t get that part of the game down.” Willems had to concede and went for it at Eintracht.

Willems: “Man, how I found out about that running. The first weeks of pre-season was so harsh. The first session I did was a 3 hour training, and after 2,5 hours I cramped up. So they said, don’t worry, we’ll do some easy running later today, to run it off. Guess what, that was an hour forest run! And I had done the first part of the pre-season with PSV and thus the second part with Eintracht. Incomparable. Seriously. At PSV, you work with the ball. At Eintracht, the ball doesn’t even come along to trainingscamp. We would run 14 kilometers per training day. Every day. Here, you need to be able to play full throttle every match, for 90 minutes. It’s that simple.”

Willems currently is top fit and starts to enjoy the hard work. “I never minded hard work, if I can see it aims towards something, sure. It’s not that I like it, but it’s a matter of just doing it, right? But my body mass index is still the same, don’t get wrong. Some people thought I was fat at PSV? But that is all muscle man. I’m a big boy, but I have a six pack and always had that. The only thing, my neck started to become a bit big, due to the muscle work I did in the gym, when I was injured. I looked fat, but I am fit as ever.”

Playing in Germany is a bit different. “Here, you play a good game, they will say: good game! In Holland, it’s always: good game, but…. this and that was not good. There is always that “but” in Holland. Look at PSV this season. Last season: criticism because they couldn’t get the results. This season, PSV is leader but still people whine and whinge that it’s not good enough… Typical. And my view of football has changed. I loved to do the cool and fancy things, but now, I realise it’s only about winning! I know Mourinho and Conte…they don’t care how they win, as long as they win. It’s time I start focusing on trophies rather than a cool trick or a good shot.”

Willems keeps on going: “In Germany, if you can’t win, the new aim is to not lose. In Holland, if you can’t win, you will try even harder to win. With the result, potentially, that you lose! I grew up with the Dutch school of football and attacking football is my thing, but here I have learned to play for the result. The Bundesliga enriched me like that.”

Eintracht Frankfurt is doing well this season and Willems plays a key part in it. “We are sub top now and we can look up instead of down. But, we’re not Bayern Munich, which can win games at 75% commitment. We really need to work our asses off for a win. The big thing here, like in the Premier League, is that any team can beat any team. In Holland, we only had two real rivals, Ajax and Feyenoord. We were expected to win the other matches. In Germany, it’s a bit more close. But tactically, the Dutch are better. Here, if the build up fails, they just hit a long ball forward. Boom! But in the last phase of the attack, everything goes much quicker here. Zip zip, some passing, first touch and before you know it it’s a goal, or a chance. And it’s constant. In Holland, we had moments in the game, where I knew I wouldn’t be involved. It was predictable, the patterns. I sometimes lost some focus. Here that is impossible. You need to be on your toes constantly.”

Willems is the fourth on the list of players with the most crosses, but he is number 1 in term of accuracy. He is no. 6 on the list of players creating chances. “Wijnaldum always pointed stats out to me, he’d always say: numbers don’t lie!”.

Willems about his position: “I am confident in the 3-5-2 system, which means I play 20 yards more forward and my defensive tasks are less important than in a 4-3-3. But I do need to track back of course, the coach expects me to take care of the whole left wing. So I need to be top fit.”

Life is good in Germany. Willems lives with his 29 year old cousin, who cooks for him and does odds and sodds for Jetro. “We have 17 nationalities in the team, it’s quite a cosmopolitan team. We speak English mainly but I’m learning German too, I can understand it. In Holland, it was all becoming “normal”. Here, both professionally and personally, it’s a new world for me. I’m out of my control zone now. It’s good.”

Willems enjoys being more anonymous. “Somehow I managed to get the attention of some tv pundits. It’s probably my own fault. I remember being interviewed when we were trailing behind Ajax two seasons ago, and I jokingly said – with a straight face – that we would win it, and we did! Hahaha, and I had some more funny interviews but somehow people don’t always get that humour. Football humour. And when I seemed to have gained weight, they were all over me. It’s good to be in a country where I am not important. They still call me a talent here in Germany. At PSV, I was one of the veterans, hahaha. I did play six seasons for PSV, won titles, played the Euros, I was one of the players in the dressing room who’d talk and be present. Here it’s different, with players like De Guzman and Boateng… I know my part here.”

Looking back at the criticism: “I understand the criticism. I simply wasn’t good enough, not consistent enough. I try to be honest with myself. I had this reputation of “he doesn’t care” but that is not correct. I do care. I am highly critical towards myself. I’m not arrogant, but I do speak my mind. In Holland, that is not always appreciated. I am not the ideal son-in-law, true, but I’m always speaking my truth.”

17 year old Jetro signing for PSV, with mum…

He had to make the switch in his head. “When I was young, I played on talent and instinct. I kept on doing this and maybe wasn’t always to responsible with my body. I had to learn this. You can reach the top with talent, but you can’t stay there just with talent. You need to work hard, learn, improve, push the boundaries. I didn’t do that for a while.”

In Germany, the benchmark is higher yet again. “The coach pushes me. He always says, if you train at a certain level, you need to push that level up, otherwise you won’t improve. In Holland, this is lacking. We train exactly how we did 4 years ago. The coach here tells me: “You’re good Jetro. But not as good as you think you are. That helps me, he triggers and pushes me. At practice, I get a lot of kicks. I tend to play a bit, trick the guys, well…they’ll have a go at you here. And the coach allows it. At one stage I was on the ground and said “coach, surely a free kick?” and he waved play on and yelled at me “will you cry and run to your mum!”… That took care of that, hahaha.”

Willems still has his eye on moving up. “Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot to prove here, but things are going well, so who knows. Gini went to Newcastle, he didn’t wait for a big name club. He played a good season and made a move. I think I could do a similar thing. After two years Eintracht, I’ll still be 25 years old. But key is to be happy and healthy. And I’m both here. I enjoy my football again and that is so important. Particularly after what happened to Nouri, I can say I’m blessed to be healthy and playing.”

Willems played his last international game for Oranje in October 2016, in the 1-0 loss against France. He watched Oranje’s exit from the sofa, at home. “So what can I say? I wasn’t there. I don’t have a right to say anything. My Eintracht coach tells me we are too complacent, we talk tactics but we don’t work hard enough. I get what he’s saying… I will do what I can to get back into it. But I am not the type to ask or to whinge about it. I have to show it week in week out on the pitch. It’s as simple as that. I hope the new NT coach will make a fresh new start now the older key players are slowly drifting out and a new group needs to step up. I hope to be part of it. And believe me, we still have top quality players. I think we’ll be fine.”

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/jetro-willems-i-promise-ill-improve/feed/50The Dutch Talents for 2022http://dutchsoccersite.org/the-dutch-talents-for-2022/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/the-dutch-talents-for-2022/#commentsMon, 22 Jan 2018 12:29:03 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5451We like looking towards the future. Because the present isn’t so hot for us. No tournament for us this year (again). No club performances in Europe. No real big stars in the high lights in Europe. Our best “Big League Players” are defenders (Van Dijk, De Vrij, Blind) or water-carriers in midfield (Wijnaldum and Strootman), with arguably Memphis and Dost the exceptions (are France and Portugal considered Big League?).

And The Dutch Classic wasn’t really worth watching either. Ajax better on the ball, but too slow and without real creative impulses, Feyenoord better without the ball. Two moments of sleeping resulted in the goals, Berghuis miss left Ajax off the hook and Jorgensen red mist resulted in a limp 10 men Feyenoord longing to the end. And bloody PSV got the 3 points in the dying seconds again…

While the KNVB is still considering how to move forward with the new team manager and technical director (apparently, Bosz, De Boer and Koeman risk losing their massive pay-checks from Dortmund, Palace and Everton if they sign for the KNVB), there are too many unknowns moving forward.

Still, the future is bright. It always is. Until you realise the light at the end of the tunnel is actually the headlight of the oncoming train…. But seriously, we can safely assume that Van Dijk, De Vrij, Memphis, Tete, Willems, Fosu-Mensah, Berghuis, Van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong, Van Beek, Karsdorp, Wijnaldum and more (Ake? Van Aanholt?) will be able to forge a team together that can win us a ticket to the next tournament.

The question is, is there more? What players can we expect to see coming through for the WC2022.

Voetbal International made a nice list for us. Players, 18 years old or younger.

AZ – Calvin Stengs…

…deserves to be on the top of the list. The AZ playmaker is sadly out of commission at the moment as a result of a terrible injury (self inflicted, as a result of eagerness). He played against PSV, the game was only 5 minutes old or so, and it was clear Stengs was already AZ’s big man. He lost control over the ball, Marco van Ginkel was ready to take control and Stengs should have conceded the ball. Instead, he lunged in to regain possession and overdid it. Stengs hunger was fueled by his excellent pre-season where he played as a false right winger (Ziyech style) coming inside inbetween the lines to get the ball and do something creative with it. He’s one of those players that has complete control over the ball and thinks quicker than others and sees solutions no one else sees. Whenever Stengs has the ball, his team mates will make a move, start a run, because they know he’ll see it. Max Huiberts, AZ’s Technical Director: “He is our crown jewel. Ten years ago, a guy like him would have played in the Ajax Academy. This tells you a lot about AZ’s strengths today.”

PSV – Jayden Braaf…

…was sent away by Ajax when he was 11. Too light, too weak. But he didn’t just capitulate and left for the rivals from Eindhoven. The left -winger had a tremendous development trajectory there and was the key player for the Oranje Under 15s in the win over Germany in 2017. Ajax immediately went back to Braaf and pleaded for him to return, offering him a spot in the Under 17s. But Jayden stayed loyal to the club that did believe in him. His Youtube channel gives you a nice insight in the skills of the right-footer on the left wing.

Ajax – Justin Kluivert…

…isn’t the only Kluivert of course. Yes, there is dad Patrick, but little bro Shane is also getting massive views on Youtube as he plays in the Barcelona Academy. Kluivert’s current level is nicely symbolised by the fact that the junior keeps an A international of Germany (Youness) out of Ajax’ starting eleven. He’s fast, explosive, has a low centre of gravity, is perfectly two-footed and like Arjen Robben (and unlike Youness) he has the ability to come inside from the flank and find the killer pass or score with an almost signature curler in the top corner. There is a huge scarcity of players who can make the difference and it seems Justin is surely one of those. Ajax does have a problem with the little Kluivert, as he’s called: his contract ends in the summer of 2019. He has not yet agreed to renewing it, so to keep him from walking out for zilch, Ajax might have to sell the winger this coming summer already, to at least make some money. Several top clubs have shown their interest and it will not be hard for Justin to find a nice step up, this coming summer.

Chelsea – Daishawn Redan…

…was eleven years old when he was invited to entertain the crowd before an Ajax-PSV, with a game of keepy-up. The youngster started before the fans entered the stadium. When the game was about to begin, he was politely asked to please stop doing it and get off the pitch… Eleven years old! His talent was such that even Ajax wasn’t able to keep the striker in Holland. When he turned 16, he accepted invitations to visit Man United, West Ham United and Chelsea. “Man United was quite impressive but when I saw the training facilities and the stadium at Stanford Bridge, I was sold.” The youngster has a contract in West London until 2019 and is currently the skipper of Oranje Under 19. He scored 4 times in 3 qualification games for the EC 2018 in England.

Ajax – Matthijs De Ligt…

… is on his way to Barcelona in the summer of 2018, according to the Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo. And why not? He’s just 18 years old and has already demonstrated his quality at top level. He’s number 8 on the list of most talented teenagers according to the English 4-4-2 magazine. When Ronald de Boer was asked which current Ajax player would easily fit into the 1995 wonder team, he responded immediately: De Ligt! When Man United played Ajax in the EL finals, Mourinho allowed Sanchez – n0w Spurs! – the ball for the build up. That is telling indeed. He’s the youngest Dutch player to ever play a European finals. It’s not hard to see Ajax won’t be his ceiling in football.

AZ – Kenzo Goudmijn…

…was 15 years old when AZ coach John van de Brom allowed him his debut against KV Mechelen. The youngster didn’t have any nerves. He thought the coach was pulling his leg and never believed he was actually going to play. Kenzo is the son of former AZ winger Kenneth Goudmijn, currently AZ youth coach. He’s considered to be one of the top talents but the midfield playmaker does need to make some steps physically to actually rumble with the seniors.

SC Heerenveen – Kik Pierie…

…has the name of a football comics football hero. Made his debut last year at 17 and hasn’t given up his starting birth since. It’s remarkable how he’s able to stop the strikers in the Eredivisie and demonstrates his build up qualities with his left. Both his parents were pro hockey players and both his brothers are also talents in the Heerenveen Academy. They might all three once play for the first team, although it’s fair to believe that Kik won’t be at Heerenveen for long. “My parents know what it takes to make it to the top so they’re wonderful in guiding me in my choices and patterns.”

Ajax – Ryan Gravenberch…

…is only 15 year old but is a key player in Ajax Under 17, which will claim the title easily this season. He’s will be moved up to the key Ajax youth team, the Under 19s and calls himself a midfielder. “I’m like Pogba. Tall, lean and quick. Like him, I’m a snake, I can glide past players but I also love watching Iniesta and Frenkie de Jong play.” He was the youngest goal scorer ever in the UEFA Youth League. At Ajax, they’re convinced of his future and have agreed on a 3 year deal, which he is only allowed to sign at the summer of 2018, when he turns 16 years old.

Feyenoord – Cheick Toure…

…left his country Guinee as a refugee with his older brother when 4 years old. He ended up playing for FC Dordrecht when he was 10 and got signed by Feyenoord when he was 12. Martin van Geel: “Cheick is a very mature guy, already. He has personality, has leadership qualities and has learned to speak up for himself. This season he’ll play for the Under 19s and he has a pre-contract motivating him more to develop himself.” When he was 16 years old, he made his debut for Feyenoord 1. He suffered some injuries and disappeared from the spotlight for a bit, but the explosive rightfooted left winger is top fit again and waiting for his second game in the first team.

AZ – Myron Boadu…

…was sent away after a test run at Ajax. He went to AZ and the rejection by Ajax resulted in him playing even better when faced with the Sons of Gods. He won nines times already vs Ajax. Last year, large clubs from all over Europe wanted to sign him but the young forward decided to stay at AZ. He’s regarded as their biggest talent – with Stengs – and according to his youth coach, he’ll go for two seasons in AZ 1, then maybe a step in Holland (Ajax?) and then…who knows? “Dutch football will really benefit from this lad. He is Bergkampesque.”

Hamburger SV – Rick van Drongelen…

…is like Virgil van Dijk. Recognised as a top defending talent, but swooped up by a rich mid-tier club instead of one of the top 3 Dutch clubs. HSV paid 3 mio euros for the defender, apparently in the half time break, during a friendly between the two clubs. And he has no trouble whatsoever keeping up with the Bundesliga level. Sparta Rotterdam scouted him in Zeeland when he was 13 year old. PSV also offered him a place, like Twente and Willem II. At his 17th, he made his debut in Sparta 1, and he became Sparta’s youngest goal scorer ever. His strenght? An un-Dutch match mentality. “I don’t play for fun or for the beauty of the game. I just want to win.” His idol? Not Messi, Pirlo or Redondo, but Italian beast Chielini. In Germany, they call Van Drongelen “The Machine”, because of his training mentality. “You can’t become a better player by doing less than the other guys.”

Fortuna Sittard – Perr Schuurs…

…will be an Ajax player soon. The 18 year old already is the figure head of the Jupiler League and will show his leadership in Amsterdam. Liverpool and Tottenham were after his signature too, but the young defender will remain in Holland for a spell. He’s a top quality passer, has length and is fast. Perfect characteristics for a modern defender. His main strength is the perfectly timed tackle.

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/the-dutch-talents-for-2022/feed/33Mourinho and Excelsiorhttp://dutchsoccersite.org/mourinho-and-excelsior/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/mourinho-and-excelsior/#commentsSat, 13 Jan 2018 12:10:10 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5324The football city of Holland is obviously Rotterdam. The port city has three Eredivisie clubs and a tremendous history. The best stadium of the country, the best pitch of Europe, the most popular club of the country, and with Sparta a club that plays its home games in a castle.

Excelsior is the ugly duckling in Rotterdam. The grounds look like a mediocre amateur club venue. The club is situated in the posh area of Rotterdam, next to the Erasmus University where football competes with cricket, rugby and golf. Their biggest claim to fame is and will always be the fact that their budget used to be made “whole” by collecting old papers from households in the area, which would then be sold to a paper-disposal plant for mere cents… An urban legend, I’m sure.

But, it’s also the most decent club in the country and has and probably always will have the lowest budget in the Eredivisie.

Despite their relative poor stature, Excelsior plays very decent football, pass & move, technically skilled and they even were 7th (!!) in the Eredivisie for a spell. Currently the lowly club is 12th in the league and actually the second club in Rotterdam (with Sparta in relegation land for now).

Excelsior always had a knack of finding good coaches, who would bring something extra to the club. The likes of Mario Been, Fons Groenendijk and Alex Pastoor all did wonderful things here and currently it’s Mitchell van der Gaag who impresses.

Van der Gaag was a promising central defender when he came through the ranks at PSV Eindhoven. He found it tough to compete with PSV peers in the heydays and was out on loan to NEC and Sparta, before he left for Scotland. After Motherwell he returned to play for FC Utrecht and then made his move to Portugal where he became a cult hero for Maritimo. A short spell with Al Nassr followed and after his career (stopped short by injuries) he went on to coach in Portugal before returning to Holland, where he coached FC Eindhoven for one season and is now writing headlines with Excelsior.

Jose Mourinho: “There are many poets in football, but poets don’t win trophies!”. It’s how they think in Portugal. That’s all.

Most Dutch people will remember the way his team Man United won the EL finals against the young Ajax of Peter Bosz. I’m sure Bosz is considered one of the poets, by the Special One and he had his fair share of shenanigans with Dutch coaches before. Like when he was able to run a coaching session for his boss, Louis van Gaal, at Barcelona. And how his boss Van Gaal inspired Mourinho to become a head coach himself. Or how he beat Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona after he won the CL a season earlier with FC Porto. And how Mourinho inspired Ajax’ and Cruyff’s Velvet Revolution, after Real Madrid simply brushed Martin Jol’s Ajax aside in two matches in the CL. How he played the Ajax of Frank de Boer and had his players get a yellow card to avoid a suspension in the knock-out stages. And mostly, how he beat his old master Van Gaal in the CL finals of 2010.

All this was symbolic for the changes in international football and the changes in the coaching hierarchy. Since the spring of 2015, it were the Portuguese coaches who won trophies, in England (Mourinho himself), Greece (Pereira), Russia (Villas-Boas), Ukraine (Fonseca) and France (Jardim). And it was Santos who won the EC with the Selecao das Quinas in 2016.

The Dutch coaches? Well, Ten Cate won the title in the United Arab Emirates and Van Gaal won the FA Cup with Man United. That’s it, really.

When Van der Gaag arrives in Portugal in 2001, the roles are reversed still. His coaches ask him constantly about the Dutch School. Whenever Mitchell flies to his family in Holland, his coaches would ask him to bring home video tapes of Ajax coaching sessions. “Typical for the Portuguese,” Van der Gaag smiles. “They are followers, it’s in their culture.”

His family resides in Portugal for 16 years now. His oldest son just won a first pro contract with Benfica, where another son also plays in the youth system. He won the title on the second level with Belensenses and had to quit his job due to heart issues. He resumed work on Cyprus and came to Excelsior at the Eredivisie level via FC Eindhoven.

Van der Gaag witnessed how the Portuguese changed their football culture. All thanks to a headstrong student physiology, who went from being Bobby Robson’s translator to one of the most successful coaches of the 21st century. “Mourinho has a different mentality than most Portuguese people. When he won the CL with FC Porto, he made some wholesale changes in the country. The coaches now are more self confident and simply are viewed differently now.”

Van der Gaag at Motherwell

Van der Gaag mentions Leonardo Jardim, who led AS Monaco to the title and the semi finals of the CL. “He is from Madeira, where I worked for nine years at Maritimo. He did not have a huge playing career, and neither did Mourinho. These guys are all university students, physiology, or sports-science, mostly in Lisbon. And they start their coaching careers early. Jardim was 27 years old when he started as assistant coach. And they move their way up the ladder step by step.”

Van der Gaag is still a player when Porto wins the CL. Around that time, the coaching virus grasps him and he finishes his initial Dutch studies in Portugal. “The course in Portugal is so different. In Holland, it’s all about the Verheijen method of not putting too much physical pressure on the players. You need to work with match situations and see how you can find a problem and make it trainable. In Portugal, you go into an intern for 3 weeks and you are being fed all this know-how, from 9 am till 9 pm. You get a fist thick book with all sorts of practices. After that you need to work on a thesis using 75 of these practices and on the exam day you pick a number and use this practice on the training pitch.

Mourinho in his Porto days

Van der Gaag doesn’t believe this is good enough and starts to invest in himself. He saves an amount per month which he uses to buy all sorts of football training books. He studies the Danish physical condition coach Bangsbo’s work, he delves into the work of Professor Castelo and Jose Oliveira teaches Mitchell about tactical period-planning.

“In Portugal, universities play a major role in football development, both in Porto and Lisbon. All the methodologies are being taught. In Lisbon, it’s Castelo and in the North they use the Vitor Frade method, who works for FC Porto and for the university. He is seen as the mentor of Mourinho.”

The quintesses of this tactical period training is that it ignores systems and tasks and roles and running lines, but works with principles. “Tactics is extremely important in Portugal, but systems aren’t. The difference between certain systems is only a few yards, right. The systems actually only exist on paper. And more and more teams seem to be positioned compact, defensively. The Portuguese work more on principles, concepts that assist the players in decision making in particular in the turn-around situations.”

And this is exactly the thing where the Dutch can learn from the Portuguese! “After Ajax’ finals against Man United, I heard a lot of criticism about how Man United played anti-football. I heard the same criticism when Portugal won the EC2016. We want to entertain the crowd, in Portugal, only a victory counts. The word “counter” has a negative connotation in Holland, but a well executed counter is the result of practice and perfectioning moments. In Portugal, all we did was train the turn around moment. (Current Ajax assistant coach) Alfred Schreuder told me that Nagelsmann does the exact same thing at Hoffenheim.”

Alfred Schreuder at Hoffenheim

Van der Gaag uses this at Excelsior. “I basically see four key moments in a match and for each, we use one key principle. They are attack, defense and the two turn-around moments between these two moments. This always comes back in training. Defensively, we have a compact positioning model in the zone. In the turn around, we go for depth as fast as we can. We focus on movement and overlap. All forms of practices are focused on the turn around moments. We practice 3 v 2 and 2 v 1 moments, because this is exactly what happens in a game.”

The ultimate confirmation comes in what Feyenoord thought would be their title-winning match, last season. Feyenoord centre back Botteghin collects the ball, when Feyenoord is 1-0 behind. He dribbles into midfield. And now, the many hours of practice pay off. Excelsior repossesses the ball in the midfield area, and as a result, three attacking minded midfield runners and the striker are in perfect position to counter-attack. They find depth fast, the running patterns are diagonal to confuse the defenders. An overlapping run on the wing and the low early cross across the goal mouth. “That was a wonderful explosion of joy, this is what we train on the whole year,” Van der Gaal smiles.

Physical condition is the most important thing in the turn around, more so than tactics. “The ability and willingness to run 60 meters at full speed, that is the difference. We worked on that with our wingers all season. I showed him videos of Eden Hazard, who constantly makes those runs at Chelsea.”

Apart from book study, Van der Gaag also does his work in Youtube. “I sometimes take a full day to watch videos of top coaches. I love watching Marcelo Bielsa. He’s fantastic. Sometimes I have to rewatch his stuff three times to see what he actually is doing. I learned defensive practices from him. He lets defenders head balls away all the time. Diego Simeone does that too. Players are constantly jumping, tumbling, tackling. We have tend to not to the dirty work at training in Holland. I watch those clips and it inspires me to do similar things here at Excelsior.”

Bielsa

Other coaches I follow are Sampaoli, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho. This summer, Maurizio Sarri of Napoli is also on my watchlist. The way Napoli builds up and attacks is incredibly interesting. Sarri is a special guy. He basically watches with a cigaret and every 10 minutes an assistant brings him another espresso. Amazing. And I think, how would people respond to this if I would do that at Excelsior, hahaha.”

Dutch players tend to “get” the turnaround practices quickly, but zonal defending tends to be a problem. “In Portugal, no team playes one on one at the back. If a defenders presses forward and steps out of defense, he’ll get the death penalty. In Portugal, defending is all about guarding the zone. In Holland, in particular in the Jupiler League, it’s all about one v one defending. When my defenders get nervous at Excelsior, they tend to push up. They want to “feel” a direct opponent. This is how we conceded too many goals. And due to my Portuguese DNA now, it’s not what I like to see.”

Van der Gaag wants to put the Excelsior results in perspective. “I can be the smart-ass now, but I can not explain everything. We had a bad spell last season and suddenly, we win four games in a row. And we didn’t do anything different. We just kept the focus on what we did and were doing. I can talk with a deep voice about systems, or methods or principles, but sometimes it just falls into place. And it’s mostly a psychological thing. And I’m focusing on the mental side too. We added a mental coach to the backroom staff this season.”

Tactical periodisation is a key idea in getting teams to perform well. “Books, anyone can read them. But how do you process the info, how do you make it workable in practice and how do you communicate with the players… Guilherme wrote the bible on tactical periodisation but as a coach he simply failed. I’m sure this was not due to the quality of his practices.”

Sarri

“I can see these ideas being used now in Holland by many coaches. Ten Hag, Van Bronckhorst, Groenendijk, Van ‘t Schip, but it’s more than a fad, a hype. Slowly, we see changes coming in Holland.”

So what does Van der Gaag think Dutch football needs to do. “I do follow the discussion of course. We are a bit set in our ways. But it’s not all that bad. I mean, Ajax did reach the EL finals! And the new coaching course is much better and the KNVB has definitely looked at the German way of doing things. Now it’s almost as if the ex footballer can not be the ideal coach. I think we’re now going too far in the other direction.”

Last season Excelsior played seven games in which it had more possession than the opponent. And in all those games, Excelsior ended up losing. “I think consistency is the key to our success but it can also be a reason for failure. I would love to use a Plan B to surprise opponents. But I usually start the pre-season with only 13 players. How am I ever going to get a Plan B in the team?”

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/mourinho-and-excelsior/feed/39Big Four are history now…http://dutchsoccersite.org/big-four-are-history-now/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/big-four-are-history-now/#commentsWed, 03 Jan 2018 23:45:10 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5258Arjen Robben, after the last WC qualification game vs Sweden: “The man of glass went on the longest….”

The Big Four are no more. Sneijder might play a fringe part for us in the future, but Van der Vaart, most likely Van Persie and Robben are no longer going to wear the orange.

We didn’t just lose a couple of world class players, the Big Four, we lost our self-esteem.

It’s 2010, Oranje up for the semi-finals vs Uruguay. Sneijder is being interviewed, but the cocky Utrechter turns the tables. He asks the question: “Do you believe we can win it?” The sports reporter hesitates… Sneijder: “Ok, you doubt me? I will convince you. Not with words.” And he pointed at Robin van Persie. Then he pointed at Van der Vaart. Then at Robben. He looked the reporter in the eye and pointed at himself. “Tell your wife you’ll be coming home after the finals.”

Sneijder got up and walked away. And raised both arms in triumph, with two fingers up on both hands. Four.

Two days later, Oranje made it to the finals.

Earlier that year, he did the same. He asked the question of the sports reporter: “Is there a name for it when you win the treble AND the World Cup?”. He just won the title, the national cup in Italy and the Champions League. He played against Robben and Van Bommel. These three would get to the national team training camp late, but brimming with confidence. Robben and Sneijder talked at the trainings camp, about their mutual debuts for Oranje against Portugal. “We never made it far in 2006 and 2008 because our aim was to survive these groups of death. Getting through was the key thing. This time, it’s different. This time we want to go all the way. We told each other constantly: we are not leaving until we played the finals. We will go to South Africa to win it!”

Those were the days. Not just because we had these four Top Guns. But because we had personalities in the team. Think Nigel de Jong, Mark van Bommel, Dirk Kuyt. Players with a voice and an opinion. In 2010, the players wanted to win it. In 2014, Louis van Gaal squeezed it out of them.

The development process of the Big Four was fascinating. And also because of their temperaments. When self consciousness and top quality meet, ego is lurking. And in particular, when certain players are going for the same position. It was never a thing, for Sneijder and Van der Vaart. Best mates since their youth. And they still are close. Bert van Marwijk demanded it: mutual respect and acceptance. Trust each others qualities and skills and cover for the weaker aspects. A collective consciousness. And all this got processed and came to the fore in 2010. If it wasn’t for Casillas toe, Holland would have had the cup.

They shared their talent and confidence, but the Big Four also never forgot their roots. When Van Persie scored that phenomenal header vs Spain, in 2014, he credited his old youth coach Aad Putters, at Excelsior, as the man who taught him to head the ball. And every year, Robin participates in the youth tournament carrying his name. Just like Rafael van der Vaart visits his own youth tournament in Beverwijk, with his dad behind the bar counter and his mum selling entry tickets. Arjen Robben recently produced a video tape to ask the fans of FC Groningen to support his old club, even in these dire times. And Sneijder financially supports an entourage of family and friends, to make them part of his success. They’re multi millionaires but in their hearts they’re still street players.

Robben, the dribble king from Bedum, Sneijder the focused leader, Van der Vaart the old-fashioned virtuoso and Van Persie the elegant artist, who’d do the grocery shopping in Kralingen with a ball glued to his left foot. They love the game, from their youth right to the highest level.

But after that failed tournament of 2012, in the run up to the World Cup Brazil, the rust started to show. Van der Vaart was already out. He played his last international game in 2013. Van Gaal harassed Sneijder about his fitness. Van Persie admitted he played with constant pain. Only Robben, with him was it the opposite. The injury prone winger was in the form of his life and carried Oranje through the World Cup 2014. Sneijder and Van Persie just made it. When Wesley Sneijder had himself tested by the Dutch squad medical team, Van Gaal thought the equipment was faulty and ordered a re-test. That is how fit Sneijder was. Van Persie withstood the knee complaints and had his most productive tournament ever: 4 goals. In that sensational 1-5 win over Spain, all three players were involved: two goals Van Persie, two goals Robben and Sneijder with two assists. Robben: “Whenever Sneijder gets played in, I’m on my bike. Even if he still has work to do. Because I know he’ll find the gap to pass the ball exactly where I need it.” It’s how it went in Salvador, with Sergio Ramos crawling on all fours, watching how Robben scored. And in Johannesburg, when Robben was thwarted by Casillas’ toe.

In the years post-Brazil, the rust took over. Robben remained the Oranje leader. But his body didn’t agree and in 2015 and 2016 he only played 166 minutes in Oranje. The exact same period in which we failed to qualify for France 2016. Van der Vaart got sidelined by Betis Sevilla and later at Mitdtjylland. Van Persie and Sneijder had the support of Danny Blind and Advocaat after Blind betted one more time, heavily, on the two mavericks. To no avail. Sneijder got subbed for Vilhena and Van Persie ended up with a bad knee injury. Not much after, the WC Russia disintegrated for us and with that, a proper send-off for our Top World Class players. Only Robben was there, when we clutched at straws vs Belarus and Sweden. Robben had an assist on Propper against Belarus but fired a free kick into row Z later on. He had a wry smile on his face… Against Sweden, Robben was man of the match. With two goals, a lucky pen and a smashing strike from outside of the 16. His swan song.

The demasque of Oranje is a fact now. Sneijder: “At Galatasaray, some players asked who were in the Dutch national team. I named them and all I could see were question marks in their faces…”

Sneijder wasn’t present for the last qualification games. Robben was the only one left. When asked about it: “I’m not going to lie. I find it tough to be here without him. I think he could have had value for us, he’s very important. But, it’s the coach who decides, not me. But yes, it’s a wake-up call for me.”

What rests us, are the memories. Two years ago, this sentimental journey got it’s prologue. Three of the Big Four are in the bar of the Amsterdam Hilton. The Dutch team stayed the night there. Clarence Seedorf, ex-international, came by to say hi. Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben sat down with Seedorf and shared memories of the times that Oranje was a shoe in for the semi finals at big tournaments. Life was good, jokes all around, sipping drinks in front of the fire place. Sneijder grabbed his phone and said: “Let me call Raffie, ask him to come down. We’d be complete again.” They laughed and toasted. Proud and melancholic.

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/big-four-are-history-now/feed/18Ruud Gullit’s football visionhttp://dutchsoccersite.org/ruud-gullits-football-vision/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/ruud-gullits-football-vision/#commentsTue, 26 Dec 2017 08:08:28 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5415Ruud Gullit aimed to bring Oranje to the World Cup alongside Dick Advocaat. It didn’t work out. Gullit’s story, on his time with Oranje, the crisis in Dutch football and the hope he feels inside him.

When Gullit walks into the lunch restaurant in Amsterdam, he’s got a big smile on his face. As per usual. He just had a body-scan, a preventive medical examination. “Man, I had to be all empty for that. You can’t eat for 24 hours and anything that is left in your body, got to go out. They put tubes in your mouth, in your ass, in every body-opening a tube, hahaha. Well, they tell you afterwards what’s going on and in my case: all clear. Super healthy!”

He orders a soda water and a salad. “Now I’ll do a bit more even to stay this way, hahaha.”

So, when did you – uber positivo – lose faith in Oranje’s chances for the World Cup?

Ah, the night Sweden thrashed Luxembourg… My faith got a big blow. We were in the bus for our Belarus game, towards the Johan Cruyff Arena. And we heard ping after ping on the mobile phones. That was a big downer.”

So how can you then motivate the players to have them play with confidence?

“That’s hard. But we stayed positive. Look at yourself, focus on the tasks at hand. We have quality and we will beat Belarus! This is also how we approached the Sweden game. But we didn’t make it. The series we played weren’t too bad. With normal rules (the results between rival Sweden would normally be the decider instead of goal difference) we would have qualified. In the CL, it’s about the result between the two clubs who finish at the same level of points. Our results vs Sweden were better but still we’re out. That is wrong!”

Did you do enough though, to get our goal difference up?

“I do believe so. It’s so easy to say you gotta start with four attackers. We played against Belarus with four, at some stage and we gave away chance after chance. You can’t just say “now we’re going all attack!”. The contrast is crazy, we needed control first and we actually did well considering the circumstances. And while we were trying to get more confidence in the team, the people and media around us had all this negative energy going out way. It becomes really hard to overcome all that.”

When you and Dick were presented, it wasn’t about the Dutch School, but all about winning. That was a conscious decision?

“No not really. Dick and I have a similar vision and approach. Winning is all that matters. I get annoyed with all that talk about attractive football. We are not in a position to want to play attractive. I played for AC Milan, which was at that time one of the most attractive teams on the planet. But seriously, three quarters of all our matches were won ugly. Just get the points. And I’m talking absolute top! And yes, Pep Guardiola spends 500 mio euros to get the football he wants, but we believe we can play like that with our national team? Don’t make me laugh!”

Have we been too much focused on all this, in Holland?

“For sure! We see ourselves as the inventors of modern football. I will never forget Carlo Ancelotti’s words, whenever Dutch reporters would come to Milanello. “Ah, there are the Dutch football professors again!”. And that still is our image abroad. A couple of know-it-alls who talk about tactics as if it’s some holy topic, but never winning trophies. And its our own doing.”

Is that why we don’t see top coaches from Holland in the big leagues anymore?

“Partly, yes. And it’s no surprise to me. Dutch coaches stay in their bubble too long in other leagues. And we go into another football culture and tell them they’re doing it wrong. But adapting to other circumstances is key. There is not just One System, there are more ways leading to Rome. And sometimes we get a shock and wake up. Like, when Dutch clubs are without a hope in the world in European competitions. Or when a coach gets fired. We all start yelling how is it possible that we are so far behind, but then we shrug our shoulders and keep doing what we were doing.”

You couldn’t make it happen for Oranje though.

“We did turn the results around. But it wasn’t enough. We don’t need to be all dramatic about it. It’s like the economy. There are waves of talents and periods with lesser talent. When we won the EC in 1988, we hadn’t performed at 3 major tournaments. In 1988, PSV won the European Cup, KV Mechelen with a couple of Dutchies won the EC II. A year prior, Ajax won that. Marco and I were at AC Milan. But when we were younger, we didn’t qualify either. And Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder also needed time to become the world class players they ended up becoming. And we’re in one of those phases now. But we still ooze talent.”

So how hard will we miss those big name players going forward?

“You will miss Robben for sure. He was a top player for us, and a role model. And in the last matches, Sneijder was there and he did ever so well. A fantastic mentality. He was on the bench, and usually a player like him can’t handle that too well but he is no fool. And he wants to keep on fighting for Oranje. He really pushes the quality up at practice. And after the friendly against Scotland, he got me in stitches. He wasn’t used by Dick and he walks into the dressing room after the game and says “Wow, I didn’t know you can only sub two players in a friendly!”. Typical Sneijder. And you could wipe me of the floor. Others will have to step up now.”

How is it that top players like Wijnaldum and Strootman are vital for their top clubs but are so disappointing in Oranje?

“Good point. The good thing is, these players know this too and they’re working on that. It’s a first step. I have visited Kevin in Rome and discussed it with him. The contents will remain between us, but it’s too easy to just point at the difference in teams they play in. There is more to it. The meeting I had was good, open and honest and Kevin thanked me afterwards. Players need to look in the mirror first. I also spoke with Wijnaldum about it. And they’re top players and smart too. They now have the experience and status to be the leaders. Like Virgil van Dijk, that lad has everything to be world class: length, speed, strength, a good build up pass, but he can be a little complacent at times. He needs to focus. Once he focuses for 100%, he will be a top top defender. Daley Blind, he is a super player in the role we used him in, just in front of the back four. Tonny Vilhena is also a player I rate high. I expect him to grow once he makes his move from Feyenoord. I think he’s ready for it. And Stefan de Vrij is top at Lazio, Memphis is reborn in Lyon, I think we have amazing players. It’s not all bad news.”

Which young talents do you see emerge?

“I see many. Matthijs de Ligt, he copped criticism after Bulgaria, but I told him not to worry about that. See, he’s developed at Ajax, and at Ajax they are used to have the ball 70% of the time. At Ajax, you have the ball. I told him, in Oranje it will be different. The focus needs to be on what you do without the ball. His attention needs to be 100% when we do not have possession. Anticipate what can happen when the opponent wins the ball. What are his tasks when we lose the ball, his positioning, etc. You need to be mentally and positionally ready for that. The other 30% in Oranje, is easy. That’s when we have the ball. It’s another mindset. In the Eredivisie you can pass the ball nicely, but against France or Denmark or Portugal, you can’t. He is like a sponge, he loves that input. Like Donny van de Beek. They want to learn. Justin Kluivert has massive potential. He now needs to be more constant in his game. These lads need time. Dennis Bergkamp wasn’t extra-ordinary when he was 20 years old. He started to become super good at 24 years of age. Paul Pogba, same story. Talents who are world class at 19 years old are rare.”

Our talents leave Holland too soon?

“Yes, I would advise them to stay longer. It’s better for your development, you will play more games and the scouts will find you anyway. Look at Lozano and Neres, they’re in the Eredivisie for a reason. They want to learn here and use Holland as a stepping stone. In the top leagues, you either need to be top notch already otherwise you are on the stands or loaned to a lower club on a lower level. Look at what happened to De Bruyne at Chelsea. Or Salah at Chelsea. Or Loftus-Cheek. If these lads have trouble initially, it’s not strange that our talents are having a hard time there as well. So don’t leave too soon, even despite the artificial pitches.”

What is your biggest problem with that?

“If I tell people abroad that we have so many clubs playing on artificial surfaces, they think I’m pulling their leg! It’s something you can’t explain. No one does this, only Holland. You get different types of players, the football is different. When will people act? When will the licensing requirements change? Clubs with artificial pitches should not play top level football. So, simply don’t sign that right back from Slovakia, but fix your pitch. Make the right choices. Same with youth academies. If a club does not want to invest in youth academies, then don’t let them compete at the top level. Full stop. You can’t just look at your own interests. The new KNVB Technical Director has a big job fixing all these things. I wish the guy all the luck in the world.”

How is your relationship with Hans van Breukelen?

“It’s fine. I forget and forgive. I can get pretty angry, but it goes away quickly too. That is my personality. Swallow the turd and move on. Don’t keep on walking around with a turd in your mouth! I told Hans in his face what I thought about it all and that’s it for me. He should have told me that Marco was about to leave for FIFA. Easy. And Marco agrees with me. All that silly stuff of secrets and hidden agendas. But, it’s not an easy job, he had. I wonder who will step into that role now. Because you get the blame for everything.”

What do we need to change at youth level?

“Kids are being told everything. It’s all made so simple for them. So stop with those positioning games and those pre-programmed methods. Most youth coaches kick the creativity out of the player. You can hear them yell at the players. They need to pass, they can’t have a failed dribble activity or all hell breaks loose. Let those kids play! This is how they learn, let them develop their technique. And let them sort out things themselves, let them choose teams etc. Ger Blok, who was our youth coach at the time was good at that. He would always ask us: so what is your idea? What do you think we should do? Forced us to think about it. My son plays in the AZ youth. They get it there. They make the talent responsible for his development. You create independent and intelligent players like this. Because on the pitch, players need to make the decisions.”

How can you make this part of the training?

“It’s important to use match situations in training. Even at the highest level, this is lacking at times. Typical example with Oranje. After the training, some players took time to do some finishing. Memphis, Promes, Vilhena and some others. So they were on the edge of the box and someone would play the ball to them from next to the goal post. And then they’d hit the ball on goal. Good fun! So I asked them: How often do you get a pass from next to the goal post, in a match? The answer is clear: eh..never… Ok, so why practice this? So I said, we’ll do this different. Stand with your back to goal, with a defender – me – in their back. And then you get a ball played into you, which is not perfect. At hip height. At knee height. With a bounce, to the wrong foot. The first touch needs to be so that they create space, turn and then shoot on goal. Those are the situations you get in a match. These are the details I’m talking about.”

Was that your role, typically?

“Yes, Dick said: just work with the players and that is a good role for me. Take Locadia. I asked him: what are you, a winger or a central striker. He said: I’m a striker. So I said: but you run so much. All that running… That is easy to defend for a defender. He didn’t believe me. So I called out to Rekik and asked him: What do you think is harder to defend: a striker on the move, or a striker who basically leans into you and you don’t know when or how he’ll run? Rekik said: a striker running is easier to defend, you know where he’s going, he won’t surprise you that much. You should have seen Locadia’s face! I want to make players aware of their job. Take Daley. Blind is a tad introvert. So I asked him: what playing style do you prefer? He said: I’ll go with what the coach wants. I said, no I want you to think about it and express it. It’s important that players are accountable and they need to learn to communicate this. Some players started to give their opinion and wanted zonal marking. I’m personally not a fan, but hey… The players need to do it, and I’m not a dictator.”

Is this something that happens enough between players and coaches?

“I think it can be done more and better. I think players with an opinion are being told to shut it. But you need to cherish those, these kids think out of the box. The cherries on the cake. A talent needs to be a bit difficult. All good players have their weird things. I was a bit crazy too. In Holland, Hakim Ziyech is one of those. He’s “difficult”. He’s got an opinion. But he dares to think differently and play differently. And he has the skills to execute it. He can be the difference. And as a coach you need to find the balance, of him playing in service of the team or the other way around. And he will need to find that too. It all starts with the material you have, as a coach.”

Do coaches make their vision too important?

“I think so yes. They play and act as if they invented the game. The game is evolving constantly. It’s faster, more physical. So you ask yourself, how do I get the optimal result from this team. How to create a man more situation. How to pressure. How do you avoid being taken out by a counter? Now suddenly, the 5-3-2 is being heralded as the new thing. Nonsense, I used that at Chelsea already, 20 years ago. And Liverpool played like that back then too. The system is just a starting point. And Louis van Gaal apparently made a wonderful discovery for the WC2014. So he did it for Man United too but that never worked and he went back to four at the back. It all depends on the material you have. You find the system that fits the players, in particular with the National Team.”

Is Memphis potentially the best player we have?

“He has tremendous qualities. He’s now making some good steps. But it’s not about playing. A top player needs to be aware of off-pitch things as well. These guys are like rock stars now and the world has you under a magnifying glass. And you can’t let that distract from what it is about. Memphis is a totally cool lad. A very sweet guy. And a fantastic player. We see this in Lyon and now we see it at Oranje as well.”

Did you discuss his performances vs his image?

“Absolutely. I had many really good talks with him. He has his own view on things. He feels people should leave him be. His private life, is his. And I get that. But, he does put private pics on Instagram and social media, and you can’t have it all. If you do this, people will judge you. So, either you don’t care what people say about you, or you don’t give them ammunition. No matter what you do, you can’t change other people. And it all comes down to results and performances. But, he’s doing well now at Lyon, and guess what: people talk about his performances again. That is what he needs to keep up.”

And how about your social media exploits with that little film you published after the Bulgaria game?

“Yes man, much ado about nothing. Neymar does this all the time, and in American sports it’s also very common. People love a little look behind the scenes. Everyone had an opinion about it, well fine… Whatever. It’s not the most important thing, is it? And you know what, we had just lost 4-0 against France. We had to get the players’ chins up in 4 days. And they did, and we won. Well done and I felt it was a rightful thing to do and say, to support the players. In that sense, it was a fantastic game.”

Would you have wanted to go on with Dick, with Oranje?

“For sure. If I was the top man at the KNVB, I would have said: “Dick, it’s going well, why not keep it going?” The results were good, the players responded well to us, Frans Hoek and Fred Grim are top professionals. Why not keep it going? No idea…”

Dick Advocaat even suggested you as the national team manager….

“I loved that. Dick believes in me, but he is not the decision maker. And it’s like, every coach that gets fired in bigger leagues is suddenly a top candidate for Oranje? Is that a recommendation than? Being fired? Well, if people think they’re better qualified, so be it. And I would love to remain as assistant of course, but it has to come from the new coach. I think any new coach needs the freedom to pick the assistants he wants to work with. I will not push myself forward. I have ambitions and want to coach. At a club, a country, whatever works. I will respond to what comes on my path.”

Thanks to VI Pro

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/ruud-gullits-football-vision/feed/23Hot Deals! Dutch coaches available with discount!http://dutchsoccersite.org/hot-deals-dutch-coaches-available-with-discount/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/hot-deals-dutch-coaches-available-with-discount/#commentsFri, 22 Dec 2017 15:12:20 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5401Today, you can’t even “park” an article for a week or it has become almost obsolete. While prepping this post, Ajax unceremoniously dumped Mr Ajax Dennis Bergkamp, up and coming coach Marcel Keizer and old-hand Henny Spijkerman. The story of a hidden power struggle within Ajax.

When Cruyff’s velvet revolution was going full speed, the maestro preached that ex-players should run the club. According to his vision, Edwin van der Sar – graduate of the Cruyff Academy – was put in management. Marc Overmars came in to oversee technical affairs, and Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk – once a unit on the pitch – were brought in to focus on player development and the through-put of talents towards the first team. Coach Frank de Boer, a passerby per definition, was also part of the so-called Technical Heart.

Since then, and since Cruyff’s passing to God’s perfect pitch, things have changed. The technical heart was reduced to an advisory role. Most decision making was hampered by this consensus model and since Jonk and Bergkamp in particular could never find consensus, Marc Overmars was promoted to Technical Director, and the Heart became a group of advisers. Coach De Boer left the Heart, as he was a mere passerby. When Jonk took his leave, the role of the new Youth Academy director was diminished.

Aron Winter, Marcel Keizer, Henny Spijkerman, Carlo L’Ami

When Peter Bosz wanted to structurally change things at Ajax – he wanted to have Bergkamp, Spijkerman and L’Ami replaced – Van de Sar decided against this. Exit Bosz. Bergkamp took the reigns and suggested a young, influenceable coach. His old mate Marcel Keizer was the choice. He was successful with Ajax 2. He would be the man to bring Van de Beek, De Jong, Nouri, Kluivert and De Ligt into Ajax 1. Overmars wasn’t sure. He wanted to interview a large group of candidates and was particularly keen to get Michael Laudrup. Bergkamp won.

However, with the dramatic European campaign, the shuffles made by Keizer, the lack of clarity and the inconsistent results, the board and Van de Sar/Overmars were getting more and more convinced they made a mistake. This young group needed someone with clarity. With vision and who could bring results.

Overmars and Bergkamp clashed more and more and the enigmatic former Gunner was not an easy counterpart in discussions. The board supported Sar/Overmars to relief Bergkamp from his – vague – duties. Marcel Keizer was to be replaced as well and Spijkerman – buddy buddy with Dennis – was told to pack up as well.

Dennis and Marc in better days

Now, Overmars had won.

A strange series of affairs, for the outside world. But internally, the tension had been there for a while. The loss in the National Cup vs Twente was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

All focus is now aimed at FC Utrecht coach Erik ten Hag. It was Marc Overmars who signed Ten Hag as Go Ahead Eagles coach. Ten Hag got Eagles to the top level and made a move to Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. When he returned to the Eredivisie, he impressed highly with struggling FC Utrecht. Alfred Schreuder, once the crown prince of the Dutch coaching club and currently assistent at Hoffenheim, is supposed to be his assistant at Ajax. The Sons of Gods will have to fork out close to $1mio to pay off Utrecht. Schreuder can be brought in at no additional cost.

Reiziger and Bogarde

An excellent article from AD Premium by Maarten Wijffels and Sjoerd Mossou.

Ronald Koeman was considered distant and arrogant at Everton. Bosz was considered naive and reckless in Dortmund. Frank de Boer was called rigid at Palace. In Hamburg, Van Marwijk was named lazy and oldfashioned. Even Louis van Gaal got the label boring in Manchester.

All exaggerated characterizations of course. But, it does paint a picture of the Dutch coach in 2017. Basically, they’re arrogant, rigid, lazy men who think in the same tactical dogmas as they did twenty years ago.

We do not have any Dutch football coach working in the big European leagues. Even Albert Stuivenberg, in Belgium, had to pack his bags recently.

Chris van Puyvelde, the technical director of Belgium’s football federation: “Whenever I came in China or the US in the past, they wanted to talk about our beer or our chocolate. Now, they say: if you have all this talent, you probably produce really good coaches too. Why would a foreign club want a Dutch coach today?”

Twenty years ago, it was different. The Dutch coaches were miles ahead, tactically. Progressive, good communicators and adventurous. Peter Hyballa, product of a Dutch mother and German father, and ex-coach of NEC Nijmegen: “Oh boy, when I was a kid in Germany, I’d watch Dutch football all the time. You were trailblazers, so much further than we were. The way your television discussed football, about roles, tactics, zonal marking, a whole new world opened up for me.”

Hyballa goes on: “But the thing is, what you did, other nations started to do that too. But better. Germany, Spain, France they copied your football vision and integrated it with their strengths. Its more intense, faster, with more flexibility. Your football has never evolved. In Germany, most football experts recognise this.”

So how can be break out of this. How can the Dutch coach get his status back? Where are the successors to Van Gaal and Hiddink?

Peter Hyballa

The problem is, all the exits we’ve seen in the past seasons are all individual cases. Peter Bosz’ fate is not connected to Stuivenberg’s. And Koeman is not the same man or coach as Frank de Boer.

The KNVB has changed the coach development program this year. They want more diversity. Not just ex players but young turks and experienced amateur coaches. To break the mould and add new moulds to it. There is now room for a Dutch Diego Simeone. Or a version of Maurizio Sarri, the Napolo coach. Who used to be a bank director before he turned to coaching.

KVNB coaching trainer Frans de Kat: “We used to offer one standard course in the past. Now we turned it around. The student is schooling himself and we support him.”

Almost anything in Holland leads to controversy and discussion. Ex-international John Heitinga – he played a World Cup final! – was rejected for the training course, this erupted into a media storm. The KNVB philosophy seems contrary to Cruyff’s vision that ex pro players need to get a role in football management. Peter Hyballa: “You guys seem to stuck in this old boys network of former players, it’s institutionalised in the Dutch way of thinking about football.”

Van Puyvelde seems to agree: “Your media, the club management and even the public, they all seem to cling on to the same old names.”

Hyballa: In Holland, people are scared to go beyond their standard little club. If an outsider comes in, it’s “what has he achieved?” or “who does he think he is?”. Judge people on their work, their content. Don’t keep cooking in your own little kitchen with the windows closed.”

Van Puyvelde, who lived and worked in The Netherlands, points to another situation. “Discussing things is and has been your forte. But having a discussion is only relevant when you can couple it to a decision. If Cruyff said something to Michels, Michels would put it to use. Cruyff did the same with his players, and so did Van Gaal. They had the strength and the ability to execute.”

“Now, it seems you are debating constantly, with egos involved and “not invented here” mentality. There are no decision being made.”

Cruyff and Guardiola

Peter Hyballa uses Germany as a reference. A place where coaches without a strong professional background are picked. “We opened it up. But you need balls, people with the guts to make those decisions. You have to go for quality and let go of the past. You have to be ruthless.”

Young coaches, the so-called laptop coaches, are modernising German football. The German federation was responsible for this culture shift. “This is why Thomas Tuchel got his chance at Mainz. Or I got the Alemannia Aachen job. And then Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim and Wolf at Schalke. A good coach is someone who works hard, constantly develops and invest in themselves. Every day. It’s not about how big your name is or who good you were as a player.”

Take Hein Vanhaezebrouck in Belgium. A self-made man. Made AA Gent champions in 2015 and even got through the group stage in the CL. Now, he is responsible for the direct, modern game of Anderlecht. His style is direct. This guy would fit a club like Feyenoord. But can you imagine the commentary: “What does this fat Belgium guy do here? Is he going to coach us?”

Hein Vanhaezebrouck

Hyballa: “Players today are more ego-centric than ever. It’s about them. They’re not interested in the goal you scored against AC Milan in 1999. They want a coach who makes them better. To bring them to the top. They judge a coach on his coaching methods, his communication skills, his tools and the specific training sessions. Your career, 20 years ago? Who cares…”

He continues: “You can’t survive with the experience you had as a player, doing a practice in the morning, play golf in the afternoon and go home at 4 pm. These laptop coaches, they had to work. Year in year out. Develop themselves. You need energy. Do away with the complacency and the self-obsessed.”

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/hot-deals-dutch-coaches-available-with-discount/feed/9Ten Cate: the one that got away….http://dutchsoccersite.org/ten-cate-the-one-that-got-away/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/ten-cate-the-one-that-got-away/#commentsSun, 17 Dec 2017 04:16:37 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5388In our series of posts on the vision of (young) Dutch coaches, we had upcoming coach Lijnders, the vision of Ten Hag and we’ll see more of that for sure. We also have time for an old hand. Maybe one of Holland’s best underrated coaches. Won the CL as assistant with Barcelona and has been able to look into many kitchens, on many levels. Henk ten Cate was offered the NT coaching job by Hans van Breukelen, only to see it retracted a day later. In suspicious circumstances. We covered that story. Let’s cover Ten Cate’s football vision.

To refresh your memory. Henk ten Cate started as youth player at Ajax, but never made it to the first team. He played professionally for Go Ahead Eagles and in between seasons left to play for the Edmonton Drillers in Canada. After his playing career as a winger, he started as assistant manager and later head coach of several lower level clubs, such as Go Ahead, Heracles and Sparta. At Vitesse he impressed which got him the job at Bayern Uerdingen and later MTK Budapest. He became Rijkaard’s assistant at Barca before he took the Ajax job, at the insistence of Johan Cruyff. He also was assistant coach at Chelsea. He ended up coaching in China and the Middle East where he enjoys success with Al-Jazira.

Henk ten Cate is one of the few if not only Dutch coaches who does coach a team at a World Cup. Not the 2018 Russia one, but the World Cup for club teams. His Al-Jazira made it to the semi finals where they were facing behemoth and title favorite Real Madrid. They fought like lions and even got in front, but the Madrid class won it from the exuberance of Ten Cate’s team.

Ten Cate: “I think the performance and results I got with Al-Jazira is the high point in my career re: results. I think it is underrated elsewhere, but it was really against all odds.”

You could have coached Holland at the real World Cup. Does that still hurt?

Ten Cate: “Time heals all wounds right? My biggest problem was not missing the chance to go to the World Cup. My biggest issue was with the way it was handled. The procedure, the twisting, turning and lying. And eventually, their aim to blemish my reputation. I was forced to do stuff I normally wouldn’t do, like having a reporter listen in on a conversation with Van Breukelen. Not my style, I’m very open and direct but I knew he wasn’t playing a fair game and I was right. But I won’t linger on this too much. Al-Jazira was happy it didn’t happen and shoved a new contract under my nose to sign, haha.”

Why did you want the NT coach job?

“Well, that would have been the pinnacle of my career and would have loved to have led Oranje to the World Cup. I think and still think it was possible. But, I’m not going to talk about that anymore. The KNVB wanted a different course, without me. Fine. But missing this tournament, wasn’t necessary in my view.”

Do you think this affaire has damaged your reputation at all?

“I think the technical director’s (Van Breukelen) reputation is damaged. He’s the one that left. But I think he was merely being clumsy and inexperienced. I think he might have wanted it all differently but other forces were at play. I don’t think Van Breukelen is a bad man. Out of his league. And my reputation, well… I know by now how people see me… Street fighter, etc etc. I don’t care. I do know how people in football look at me: coaches, players, ex players, world class players… I value their opinion.”

Johan Cruyff said in his authorised biograpy many positive things about you as a coach. About how you work on your teams. Piet Keizer was a fan, Willem van Hanegem is a fan. Is that valuable to you?

“Of course. These people are icons. Giants of football. And always highly critical. So praise from them is valuable and touches me. And other people can call me a streetfighter. Fine.”

How did the Al-Jazira experience develop you more as a coach?

“Us Dutch coaches, we believe we are called in to get the Dutch football culture into these clubs and teams, but that is not the case. We need to adapt when we go abroad. And I have learned to do this. I have learned here to change my philosophy. Winning ugly here is accepted. I had two massive games, where we have more than 60% possession but we lost both games. That made me think. And when I worked in China, I had a translator. The guy was a previously working for the courts, didn’t understand nada about football. So when I spoke about forechecking, he was at a loss. It ended up in a long Chinese discussion between him and the players and before I knew it, the training session was over. Crazy stuff. And coaching is all about communication. And here, with Arabs, you cannot be too direct. You cannot call them out in front of their team mates. They’ll be massively offended.”

Is the wealth and wellbeing standard of Holland a problem for the development of top players?

“I do see that young kids from immigrant families in Holland have the tendency to play outside more. Buy one football and your kids are happy all day long. Whereas more affluent families might have playstations for their kids, and computers, or access to cars etc. And football players are made on the street. Not at the club, and certainly not at the KNVB. All top athletes in the US are born in the poor parts, the gettos even. If you don’t have the money to go to college, you can get there by sports scholarships. The best boxers in England are from rough parts. But it’s not just that. I mean, Germany. They are even doing better than us, right? Their economy and wealth? And look at those talents there.”

So what is the problem?

“In Germany, discipline is taken more seriously. In school, at the homes, in football too. And the training intensity is much bigger. That weird trend in Holland, the Verheijen method, to have less intensive training, I don’t buy it. You need to push boundaries. What is wrong with players being totally buggered and empty after training? The KNVB uses that Verheijen method as a a bible, but I feel it makes us complacent. Players and coaches. But it’s not just that of course. I work according to the Foppe de Haan method and Foppe makes distinctions between stages in the competition. Verheijen creates stop watch coaches. It’s a method for insecure and inexperienced coaches. I sometimes let practices go much longer. When I see that the lads like it or are doing it really well, I keep them going. And it’s not just the physical aspect of football we need to take care of, also the mental aspect. The mind is stronger than the body. So you need to be able to gauge what is going on with a player. In his private life, is he happy, etc.”

You were one of the people interviewed for the “Winners of Tomorrow” report. Do you see anything back in the report of what you suggested?

“My contribution was on the education and development of youth players. It hasn’t become a strong report, I don’t think. It feels like they asked a number of prominent football people about their opinion, to give the world the impression they want to listen. And then they wrote it down the way they see it anyway. I had three conversations. I explained it all and in the report I read that they want kids to play 2 v 2. Why on earth? I think they need to learn to play with a team. To get them used to a form of organisation. Of course, you need individual coaching and practice, but give me a group of 15 players and I can all have them do things individually. There’s ways to it. Remember in our youth, we played bricks-football or bottle-football, on the street? Perfect practice! Every player has to protect it’s own bottle and has to score by knocking over the bottle of another player. It’s quick, it defence and offence and it teaches them about space and awareness. You can easily do this at the club! At Ajax, I had youth teams play and practice on the parking lot. The surface isn’t level. There are obstacles. Go for it! There are ways to bring the street back to the club.”

What do you miss when you see Dutch football?

“Good positioning play under pressure. There are no situations on the pitch where you have two man more. Coaches train this: 6 v 4 and 6 v 2 and 5 v 3 and all that. Nice. But in the match, it’s usually 1 v 1 and if you’re lucky 2 v 1. In matches, it’s usually 2 central defenders vs 1 striker. So I coached with 3 parts of the team. We did practices on the left channel. With a left full back, left central defender, left mid and left winger. Four players. And three opponents putting pressure on the central defender. That sort a thing. Then you need to switch quickly, either to the right or centrally, as in this scenario you will have the man more at some stage and you can move up a line. When I practice, I always simulate situations from matches. In Holland, the central backs have the most possession, they are now the passers whereas the midfielders need to get in that position. Our midfielders are not open, they position themselves with the back to the forwards. Too many balls go back to the last line of defence. They can’t see the depth, they can’t see the forwards. And then it ends up with a long ball – a hail Mary – to the striker. I think the physiological coaches, the laptop statisticians have taken over too much. In our time, we had full press and half press. That was all you needed. In half press, you play compact, you keep the lines and spaces tight. You put pressure on the ball on the side where the opponent builds up. But that’s tactics. That is step 2. You first need to build the skillset of players to position themselves properly. To be open, to be ready for the follow up. I miss that.”

We now lost Arjen Robben. Do you see a successor on the horizon?

“We destroyed that. We destroyed intuition and creativity. It’s all about the positioning now. A player that can take on two defenders and score is what wins you games. Messi, Griezmann, David Silva, Sanchez, Ziyech, Berghuis. I did a guest session as a coach at an amateur club. The players were playing Playstation football. Pass square, move, open up, turn back, pass back, etc etc. Predictable. But neat. But no surprise, no creativity. I asked their coach afterwards: What do you think? He said: Yep, went well! Then he asked me, what I thought. I said: it was terrible. All programmed. But the coach said, hey, I’m expected to win games. Play for the result. He told me that in the first four games, he let the players go and do their thing. They lost four matches and the club board summoned him in. So, result became the priority and the creativity went out of the door. On the other hand, I do know that Oranje under 17 and 19 is oozing with talent. There’s incredible talent at Ajax and AZ. You can see the Cruyff Vision now coming through, in Kluivert, Frenkie de Jong, Dolberg, De Ligt. These kids all made their debut at 17 or 18 years old.”

And then they leave for a big club….

“That’s a disaster. Ajax has a striker, Redan, who left for Chelsea. 16 years old, a super talent. But what will happen now? Like Bruma, he should have stayed at Feyenoord. This is what Stefan de Vrij did and see where it got him? De Vrij had three years experience in Feyenoord when Bruma finally started to play regularly for PSV. I even think that Dutch clubs need to let the young talents ripen at their amateur club. So he can play on the street, after school. And be with his mates. You can still sign him, but let him be for the first years. If he’s good, he’ll come to the surface anyway. So many kids that are picked up at 12 years old or younger and who are brought into that Ajax or Feyenoord Academy don’t make it. Not because they don’t have it, but because the routine is too heavy for them. I think talent is wasted this way. Not just the physical pressure, but also the mental pressure. Let them be kids.”

So leave them at the amateur level much longer?

“Yes, so they also have that push effect on the kids they play with. If all amateur clubs could keep their talents, a couple of years longer, this will push the level of all these teams up. We erode already at that age and at amateur level. These kids go to Feyenoord or Ajax and then only a handfull makes it. The rest gets deflated and is sent back to the amateurs. Most of these kids will never make it again. Players need to be tested constantly, and when you are the best of your team and you play a lot, you will not only get better but you’ll learn to be a leader.”

Our educational structure needs change?

“And that is tough to do, I get that. I think the best players from the amateurs need to be brought together in regional teams and play regional games. Maybe create a new competition. Amsterdam vs Rotterdam. Tilburg vs Breda. Utrecht vs Zwolle. Etc. City teams. Regional teams. We are developing coaches but we should be developing trainers.”

]]>http://dutchsoccersite.org/ten-cate-the-one-that-got-away/feed/22The Problem with Frenkie de Jong….http://dutchsoccersite.org/the-problem-with-frenkie-de-jong/
http://dutchsoccersite.org/the-problem-with-frenkie-de-jong/#commentsSun, 10 Dec 2017 03:35:54 +0000http://dutchsoccersite.org/?p=5377He’s probably the most talented young player we have. Forget Vilhena, Hendrix, Bazoer. It’s Frenkie de Jong. When Rob Janssen (uber agent to the top Dutch players) launched his book “Deal!” a who’s who of Dutch football gathered and one of the key topics was Frenkie de Jong. Everyone, from Henk ten Cate to Kees Jansma, from Dennis Bergkamp to Edwin van der Sar, they all talked about “how good De Jong is”. But… the only problem: he doesn’t play too much for Ajax.

He was developed at Willem II. He was on the scouting list of Ajax and PSV for years but wanted to wait with his big move. Once he did, he picked Ajax. That was his only choice really, and along side Appie Nouri, Justin Kluivert and Donny van de Beek, de Jong developed into one of the Dutch hot properties.

Within a year, all the pundits and analysts recognised his “specialness” and in times of Oranje troubles, some even wanted him to wear the orange jersey already. Frenkie de Jong, the saviour…

But, we’re well into the new season and it’s still Lasse Schone playing in midfield for Ajax. The veteran Dane is keeping De Jong out. Ajax has played around with a 3-4-3 to accomodate a midfield of Ziyech, Van de Beek, Schone and De Jong but not with convincing success.

The saviour turned into the problem. Where does Frenkie de Jong need to play?

Some opinions:

Peter Bosz (former Ajax coach): “When I analyse Frenkie de Jong, I see a number 6 in him. Like Schone does it. He’s a modern midfielder, who can turn opponents so easily. He’ll start at six but move into the number 8 or 10 role. He’s got amazing qualities, anyone can see this.”

Dick Advocaat (former NT manager): “I see De Jong playing in Young Oranje on #6. But that is a position for a passer of the ball. You want that player to play in the forwards quickly. That’s why I used Daley Blind there, to give Oranje more build up quality. Daley takes two touches max and progresses the play. Frenkie is a player who can pass well, but he prefers the dribble. Taking players on. He’s not a #6. A player like him should be an offensive midfielder, playing higher up the park.”

Kenneth Perez (ex Ajax player): “I think he’s a number 6. The class oozes out of him. He can go far. But he needs to improve still. I think he lacks the ability to score. He’s the creator. I’d like him on #6.”

So everyone recognises his talent and everyone wants to see him play. But where?

It seems the strength of the opponent could well be a decisive factor. The number 6 in Ajax is the dreh-und-angel-punkt. The player who turns defence into attack. The pivot. He’s good at finding space and being available as an option. His eyes always looking forward. Once De Jong has the ball, he strides forward, usually taking on an opponent and creating the man-more situation and being important in the final third. When he came on against Roda JC in the second half, he created three goals and got himself positioned between Ziyech and Van de Beek and at times amongst the forwards.

When Ajax played the 3-4-3 vs Twente, he played as the forward libero. A number 4. He started next to Mathijs de Ligt and moved into midfield when able. But he’ll always take the risk. Even on his own half, he has so much confidence in his abilities that he’ll take on opponents, where the risk of loss of possession is high. He’s not a physical player and in a defensive role, he could get into trouble. Should the Ajax coach require him to be a simple passer of the ball, his best qualities are unused. It’s a continuous debate around the player.

Other experts believe De Jong should be play on the #8 or #10 spot. His actions are key in the third half. His risk will be diminished when he tries players on high up the park. He will not panic in the tight spaces and can play himself out of trouble to open up the opponent’s defence. But he likes the ball in his feet. He’s not the man to make penetrative runs into the box, like Davy Klaassen did. Donny van de Beek has this quality more and more, recognising the moment to dart forward and become the leader of the line.

This is the season for De Jong to establish himself. He lacks the legs for the #8 position (Van de Beek) and has too many footballing qualities for the #6 role. It seems Ziyech’s position is ideal for De Jong, but the Moroccan playmaker seems to have a tight grip on his spot. The former Heerenveen playmaker is destined to leave Ajax at the end of this season, which could be perfect for Frenkie.

He is aware of the interest of big clubs, like Chelsea, Man City and Bayern Munich but will need to have at least one great season in Holland to have the reputation that will allow him a nice spot in the dressing room there and not come in as another young prospect (De Bruyne > Chelsea, Salah > Chelsea, Douglas > Bayern, Memphis > ManU).

He himself is quite adamant and fiesty in interviews. “I’m generally happy at Ajax. This is my club now. But, I do need to play. I believe I should be in the team. As long as I’m not playing regularly, I’m not happy.”

As a youth player, Willem II and Feyenoord wanted his services. Tilburg and Rotterdam. Frenkie’s home town was smack in the middle. His parents were Feyenoord fans and hoped he’d go to Rotterdam. But after a training week at both club, headstrong Frenkie chose Willem II.

This character trait is part of who he is. His first youth coach Robbie Hendriks: “He is the type of player that doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have a fixed plan when the ball comes to him, which means he can improvise. If the defender steps in, he turns him, if the defenders drops back, he’ll take him on. He senses the movement around him and acts instinctively. But he is not easy to coach. You tell him to go left, he’ll probably go right.”

Jos Bogers, the youth coach at Willem II’s under 16 team. “Some players are made players. They practice and practice to get a certain touch right, or a move or a shot. Frenkie is a natural. That velvet technique, it’s all God given. I have never seen a better talent in my life. And he’s a dominant leader too. Don’t make a mistake. He looks like a kid, and he smiles sweetly, but he can be dominating off the pitch. With a glance, a word. The players always listened. It’s what Cruyff had. When he was 17 years old, he directed the older players already and it was accepted. I see the same with Frenkie.”

Jos Bogers checks his notes. “Frenkie always played at #10 in my team. Always the playmaker / false striker. I sometimes played with two of them. That is a hard thing to do, because they need to be very smart in their movement and positioning. But he can pull that off. We played at tournaments against Ajax and heaps of German youth teams. We’d totally hammer them. Frenkie looked the smallest of them all but he dazzled and bamboozled them constantly.”

Marc Overmars, Ajax’ technical director, is convinced. It was him who scouted De Jong in a game of Ajax under 16. “I’m no scout. That is not my role. But obviously, when I watch games, I can spot talent and special players. He came on in that game, 5 years ago, as a sub. But it took three touches for me to see his specialness. He was small, thin with really vulnerable legs. But his skill. The way he took on the ball, first touch, the turn and the follow through passing. He had “it”. Anyone could see. When I see a player like him, he becomes a project for me. I sink my teeth in it and won’t let go.”

And four years later, Frenkie de Jong became an Ajax player.

Ali Dursun, the father of another youthful talent at Willem II and youth coach, recognised the special player as well. “Whenever my son played, Frenkie usually played for another team on the other pitch. I realised more and more that when I went to watch my son, my eyes would drift to the other pitch to see Frenkie play.” Dursun would become Frenkie’s mentor. He would introduce himself to Frenkie’s parents and committed to being Frenkie’s manager. “I would sort everything out for Frenkie off the pitch, so he could focus on the game. I became his trusted advisor. Many clubs courted De Jong and all had to talk to Dursun who could cut through the promises and offers and made sure Frenkie kept his feet solid on the ground.

Presented at Ajax, with Ali Gundur

Frenkie: “I was overwhelmed. Suddenly all these people want to talk to you, and the local media started to want attention and these agents would show up… I trust Ali. I asked him to be at my side, also when we would play abroad, he’d travel along. He knows exactly what I want and he’ll take care of it. I don’t want to go to another country. I want to succeed at Ajax. And be important there. We’ll see what happens after.”

Frenkie’s dad John: “We sometimes have to nudge him to spend some of his money. He’s not interested in cars, in fashion, in iphones… He came home with a Mercedes Benz, an Ajax lease car, and he parked it in another suburb as he was embarrassed to drive such a car. His mates shop at the PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, Frenkie goes to H&M. I even remember him winning the Player of the Tournament trophie one year. After the tournament, we went to see him grandparents, and guess what? He leaves the trophy in the car. Too humble to show the thing to his grandparents. He’s very modest.”

Ajax made an impression on Frenkie. “I always liked Ajax. The arrogance, the self consciousness, the football, that long list of tremendous talent that they produced. It’s the top, in Holland. And when I went there to talk, with Ali, we got all the big guns in the room, which was amazing. Dennis Bergkamp came to introduce himself, Marc Overmars, Frank de Boer, Jaap Stam… That made an impression on me.”

He had a cameo in the EL finals against Man United and also impressed playing on artificial grass where most players struggle. Even Football Oracle and legend Willem van Hanegem felt De Jong could be the missing link in Oranje. “I’ll be honest, when someone like him says that, it does do something within you… It’s great to hear that, but at the same time, it’s not relevant. In Holland, young players are being praised very early and when it gets harder everyone drops you like a stone. I try to focus on my game. The rest is noise, really.”

The youngster made his weakness – he was quite small and tiny until he turned 17 – and used his technique and skill to play himself out of trouble. “I stayed at Willem II longer than most would. And it was good. We were never the top team, we were always getting a lot of resistance and we had to battle and be strong to survive. It helped me a lot. Also, I read about Johan Cruyff and his ideas of playing with a smaller ball to improve your ball technique. This is what my mates and I did, we got a size 3 ball instead of 5 and played with that. After that, using the senior size ball only made the game easier.”

De Jong also has an opinion about the crisis in Dutch football. “I need to be cautious here, but I think the youth development system isn’t great. I see youth coaches instructing players to touch the ball twice and pass it on. And to not lose possession. So obviously, players look for the easy option. The square ball. Or back to the goalie. I never listened to that. I play on intuition. I will take on a player wherever on the pitch, if I can see that I can create a man more situation this way. I think the positioning game we like in Holland has been over-exaggerated. It’s all about possession. I like risk. I like the forward pass. I like adventure. And at Ajax, it’s stimulated and I notice the fans like it too. And sure, when it works, I hear that people like my grace and elegance on the pitch. But when it doesn’t, they tell me I look arrogant, uninterested and complacent. But it’s the same me, hahaha. But, I am a very positive and optimistic guy. I look forward to great things, with Ajax, with myself and I think life is great.”